University Development engages and stewards private donations in support of the entire University. Funds raised bolster student success through scholarships, programmatic and faculty support, and the improvement and creation of new facilities. Fundraising in the department is currently focused on the University’s $150 million BOLD Thinking comprehensive fundraising campaign. As of May 2019, the campaign is 92% funded, with almost $139 million raised.
The department includes ten development officers who work closely with academic deans and are dedicated to each of the University’s colleges as well as Athletics. Additional divisions under University Development include Planned Giving, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Communications and Donor Relations, Development Research & Prospect Management and support staff. Departmental fundraising also encompasses Student Affairs & Enrollment Management, Undergraduate Education, Academic Planning and the J. Paul Leonard Library.
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Development News
Women in Science
After decades experiencing marginalization as a woman in the sciences, SF State Professor Emerita of Biology Jan Randall looks back on her research career and offers support to the College of Science and Engineering’s Women in Science and Engineering program.
Matching grant from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation will support LGBTQ film
San Francisco State University’s Queer Cinema Project (QCP), a program that encourages the production, study and promotion of queer cinema, received a $50,000 matching grant from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization that aims to advance social justice endeavors by supporting works in journalism, the arts, the environment, documentary film and more.
The funding will strengthen QCP’s mentorship program, according to one of the program’s founders, Assistant Professor of Cinema Johnny Symons. QCP received $25,000 from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation and must raise an additional $25,000 to receive an additional matching donation of $25,000. QCP is in the process of raising the rest of the needed money.
Funded by Neda Nobari, the Center Opens Under the Guidance of Director Persis Karim
Persis Karim thinks about food a lot — not so rare in a region known as a foodie capital. But she’s interested in how it can serve as a vehicle for cultural exchange. A lot of people’s first exposure to immigrant groups is through their cuisine. From there, they learn about the history, the culture and the conflicts, she says. That's why food is one of several ways Karim, the Neda Nobari Distinguished Chair and director of the San Francisco State University Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies, is engaging the campus and greater community about the Iranian diaspora.
The center, funded by a $5 million gift from Iranian-American alumna Neda Nobari and launched last fall, is the first and only one of its kind at an academic institution. A professor of world and comparative literature and the daughter of an Iranian immigrant, Karim says its purpose is to educate people about the Iranian diaspora community and Iranian culture through lectures, film screenings and other cultural events. She’s also in the process of launching a number of projects, including collaborating on a documentary about Iranian immigration to the Bay Area; hosting an international conference; creating an archive of the Iranian diaspora; and yes, researching food and how it plays an ambassadorial role.
Global Museum, Partially Funded by the San Francisco State University Foundation's Mary MacWilliam Fund, Opens Its Doors
Faculty, staff and students in the Museum Studies Program spent a year preparing to move the collections, in consultation with independent conservators and preparators who also worked with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. They checked the condition of all materials. They choreographed every literal step — analyzing possible roadblocks such as weather, foot traffic, narrow doors and corridors and elevator access.